This New Mum's Photos Show the REAL Evolution of a Post-Baby Body

It’s pretty much a given that you’re not going to look exactly like your pre-pregnancy self right after popping out a baby. After all, your uterus takes time to shrink back down to size. Still, it can be a hard pill to swallow.

That’s why Australian fitness influencer Revie Jane Schulz is opening up about her journey to love her post-baby body. Revie gave birth to her daughter Lexington five months ago, and was pretty open about not feeling amazing about her body when Lexington was 6 weeks old.

"I’ve found myself several times looking down at my belly," she wrote on Instagram at the time. "I caught myself feeling sad when clutching the loose skin that was once tight, unmarked, and toned. I tried to embrace and remind myself what it was all for but am left feeling so self-conscious. I kept telling myself, 'you knew it wouldn’t be back to normal straight away, give it time,' but it was still a shock and I do get upset about it."

But four months later, Revie is feeling way more optimistic. Now about five months postpartum, Revie says, "The female body is seriously amazeballs," she wrote in the caption. "I STILL can't believe I grew a human, the sweetest little human I could have ever dreamed up—baked for 41 weeks and 3 days right there in my belly.”

She says she’s learned that patience is key when it comes to post-baby bodies. "I remember just after having Lex I still looked about six months pregnant," she wrote. "Despite trying to convince myself that it will go back down, inside I believed my tummy would stay that way forever...In hindsight, yes, a bit of patience would have come in handy."

She also offered these words of wisdom to new moms: “It took a good three months for my pouch to start shrinking again. But it does shrink back down, I promise.” #Preach.